Tuesday's Daily Pulse
Charities hope to make 'GivingTuesday' as big as Black Friday
First there was Black Friday. Then came Cyber Monday. Now another red-letter day has been added to the post-Thanksgiving mix: Giving Tuesday. But unlike the other days, Giving Tuesday is about philanthropy, not shopping. The idea is to encourage Americans to donate to a good cause while promoting the efforts of thousands of charities involved in the campaign. More from the Orlando Sentinel, the L.A. Times and WINK News.
Bright Ideas for Florida in 2014
Call them New Year's resolutions if you like. As 2014 approached, Florida Trend asked dozens of Floridians this question: What's something Florida could do — in 2014 — to make the state a better place to live? In this continuing series, today we look at bright ideas on the topics of:
» Insurance - Fix Citizens
» Tax Matters - Florida should collect tax on internet sales
» Philanthropy - Time for a new partnership with Florida
Fragile Springs: Exploring Florida's natural resources
Clear, temperate water flows through limestone channels beneath North Central Florida, rising to the surface to form scores of springs that sustained early natives, amazed European explorers and delight us today – but this may only be a memory in a generation or two. Over more than six months, the staff of The Ocala Star-Banner and The Gainesville Sun has documented the state of our springs, examined the threats and investigated solutions. See the stories, photographs and videos here.
Florida hit hardest by recent gas price increases
Breaking with a national trend, Florida and the rest of the Southeast have seen prices at the pump shoot up since mid-November. The increase in Southeast gas prices, which came after refinery disruptions cut supply, has hurt Florida drivers the most, according to AAA's weekly Fuel Price Brief. [Source: Gainesville Sun]
Is laundered money fueling Miami's condo boom?
Five years after the South Florida real estate market collapsed, Miami is once again going nuts for condos. With its million-dollar starting prices and emphasis on pre-construction sales, this boom may feel like déjà vu, but today's Miami developers are demanding that buyers put down at least 50 percent before closing. More from the Atlantic and the Wall Street Journal.
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Regulators must decide who gets Floridan Aquifer's last drops [Orlando Sentinel]
Enjoy that pristine aquifer water while it's there. In the future, many Central Floridians are likely to find their faucets running with treated river water, desalinated seawater or purified sewage.
› Nation's 'oldest' city? It just may be Venice [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
The median age in Venice is 66.7, according to data recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau. It ranks sixth nationally among cities with populations above 20,000 — but with an asterisk: The five cities ahead of Venice, such as The Villages near Orlando, are designed as retirement communities.
» Related Interactive: Median ages by municipality, nationwide
› Lighting Science ranks on Deloitte's Technology Fast 500 [Florida Today]
Lighting Science Corp., a designer and manufacturer of LED lighting products, has been ranked No. 204 on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500, a ranking of the 500 fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and clean technology companies in North America.
› Hollywood-based Prolexic acquired for $370 million [Miami Herald]
Hollywood-based cybersecurity company Prolexic Technologies is being acquired by publicly traded Akamai Technologies for $370 million in cash, the companies announced Monday. Prolexic provides cloud-based security solutions for protecting data centers and enterprise applications from so-called distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.
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› Under Nick Korniloff, Art Miami empire grows [Miami Herald]
As tens of thousands of art lovers from around the world descend on Miami-Dade for a week of art consumption and social gatherings, Art Miami will mark its 24th edition. Despite an increasingly crowded and competitive art marketplace, the fair is taking risks, making investments and growing its footprint and reputation.
› Florida Commissioners Spotlight: Choose Florida christmas trees [Southeast AgNet]
On this week’s Commissioner’s Spotlight, Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam encourages listeners to choose a Florida-grown Christmas tree this holiday season.
› Sea cucumbers could be next on protection list [Miami Herald]
The opening of a Lower Keys seafood processing facility has spurred state fishery managers to move toward limiting harvests of the Florida sea cucumber. Florida law limits the harvest of sea cucumbers to people who hold marine-life licenses for collecting live animals, primarily for the aquarium trade.
› Three-hour tour of South Florida pre-construction condos [Palm Beach Post]
The guys at CondoVultures have launched a tour reminiscent of the real estate boom days when rabid buyers were plunking down deposits at condo projects yet to break ground.